FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 9th, 2022
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AmeriCorps CEO Michael Smith Awards WAFCC New Public Health Grant!
MILWAUKEE– AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, announced five Wisconsin Public Health AmeriCorps grant awards to four organizations at an event on Friday, April 29, in Milwaukee. Public Health AmeriCorps, a partnership between AmeriCorps and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will support the recruitment, training and development of a new generation of public health leaders.
Michael D. Smith, AmeriCorps CEO, joined Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Julie Schuller, M.D., Sixteenth Street Community Health, and Brian Hilgeman, M.D., Medical College of Wisconsin, to recognize AmeriCorps members in Wisconsin and announce the grant awards at Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers’ National Ave. Clinic.
"The Wisconsin Association of Free & Charitable Clinics will add capacity to strained public health systems and build a career pipeline for public health careers in Wisconsin,” said AmeriCorps CEO, Michael D. Smith. “Over the next year, more than 200 new AmeriCorps members will provide invaluable services to rural and underserved communities and address the COVID-19 pandemic, substance use, community health and health education across the state. I look forward to championing these programs in partnership with our grantees, Lt. Gov. Barnes and Wisconsin health leaders.”
“I deeply admire the work AmeriCorps has done over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as the continued investments in the nation’s recovery," said Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes. “This funding from the American Rescue Plan will help further that work to an even greater extent.”
Connor Doppler WAFCC Manager shares, "We are thrilled to be receiving this grant to continue to support and provide services for Free and Charitable Clinics and Public Health Departments while we also build future healthcare professionals".
With this grant WAFCC will engage 28 full-time and six part-time AmeriCorps Members. They will provide support to Community Health Departments and Free and Charitable Clinics throughout Wisconsin. AmeriCorps Members will help clinics address the COVID-19 pandemic and opioid use, strengthen telehealth capabilities, procure volunteers, and more.
